The MIAA Board of Directors cleared one large hurdle in the quest to get a football season this school year, as the Board voted, 22-0, to approve the football safety modifications recommended by the COVID-19 Task Force and approved by the MIAA Sports Medicine Committee during a virtual meeting Friday afternoon.
The football season will officially be allowed to begin with practices on February 22, pending the approval of individual school districts.
Safety modifications for indoor track and cheerleading were also passed, clearing the way for those sports to also begin on February 22. All other sports that were not played by various districts during the previous seasons — such as soccer, field hockey, volleyball and Unified Basketball — will also be allowed to begin.
But football was the big headline-maker on Friday, and unlike other fall sports such as soccer and field hockey, football won’t be seeing the drastic changes to its on-field rules. Many of the modifications involve sideline and bench procedures. Some of the modifications that will be put in place for this season are:
— Masks must be worn at all times. Neck gaiter masks will not be allowed for football.
— There will be no locker room use for any teams.
— The “team box” on the sideline will be extended to the 10-yard line to allow sufficient space for social distancing.
— The maximum number of players on a game-day roster will be 45, and there will be six coaches allowed per team.
— Timeouts will be held at the 25-yard line.
— Indoor practices will not be allowed under any circumstances, including inside field houses, bubbles or gyms.
As far as the other sports are concerned, their respective safety modifications were all approved unanimously by the Board of Directors. Per MIAA rules, all sports will have to hold at least 10 days of practices before games will be allowed to begin.
It should be noted that even with Friday’s approvals by the Board of Directors, this is just one of several steps in the process of bringing these sports back to the fields and courts. As was the case in the fall and winter seasons, individual school districts and leagues will still have to approve sports for the “Fall Sports II” season. Those districts will have to have the resources to enforce the modifications and they’ll have to work with their Board of Health on safety and quarantine rules.